User device and method for creating handwriting content

ABSTRACT

A method for creating handwriting content is provided. The method includes displaying handwriting letters being input, extracting at least one candidate handwriting word stored in advance in response to the input handwriting letters, displaying the extracted at least one candidate handwriting word, and replacing the input handwriting letters with a candidate handwriting word selected from among the displayed at least one candidate handwriting word.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 14/468,810, filed on Aug. 26, 2014, which application claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Korean patent application filed inthe Korean Intellectual Property Office on Aug. 26, 2013 and assignedSerial No. 10-2013-0101099, and of a Korean patent application filed inthe Korean Intellectual Property Office on Aug. 19, 2014 and assignedSerial No. 10-2014-0107560, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a user device. More particularly, thepresent disclosure relates to a user device and method for creating ordrawing up handwriting content.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, there has been a gradual increase in the number ofvarious services and add-ons (or additional functions) provided by userdevices. In order to increase the utility of the user devices and tomeet various needs of users, a wide variety of applications executablein the user devices have been developed.

Accordingly, a few to hundreds of applications may be stored in userdevices such as smart phones and tablet Personal Computers (PCs).Objects (or shortcut icons) provided for executing applicationsassociated therewith are displayed on a screen of the user devices. Theuser devices may provide, to the displayed objects, at least one of atouch input scheme and a hovering input scheme, which are based on aninput unit such as a user's finger, an electronic pen, a stylus pen,and/or the like. Using such input schemes, a user may input or enterhandwriting content to the user's user device with handwritingapplications installed therein. The handwriting applications may includea variety of document creation applications such as note applications,diary applications, and schedule applications, and/or the like.

When a user creates or draws up handwriting content or notes using suchhandwriting applications, there is a need for an input method forallowing the user to quickly input the handwriting content or notes withpre-created handwritten content, or for a method for allowing the userto quickly perform editing (e.g., a pen type change, a color change, athickness change, and/or the like) on the pre-created content.

According to the related art, while the user creates handwriting contentusing an input unit, the user device may display a string being input orcreated by the user.

However, in the method of creating handwriting content according to therelated art, the user may need to fully re-input the previously input orhandwriting words, thereby inconveniencing the user, or typographicalerrors may occur when the user inputs words that have a large number ofcharacters. Therefore, in creating handwriting content, there is a needto display the pre-created recommendable handwriting content and toallow the user to select a preferred one of the pre-createdrecommendable handwriting content, thereby enabling a user to quicklyre-input the user's desired words or strings, and a need to quicklyperform editing on the pre-created content, thereby providingconvenience to the user.

In addition, there is a need to replace at least one word included in astring being input with at least one of an associated image, photo,and/or emoticon, thereby providing benefits to the user, and to changeproperties or attributes of the string being input, thereby makingchange to the handwriting content according to the user's preferencepossible.

Besides, there is a need to recommend the handwriting (or the style ofpenmanship) and the preferred words for each user, when multiple usersenter their own handwriting content to one user device at the same time.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a user device and method for creatinghandwriting content.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a method forcreating handwriting content is provided. The method may includedisplaying handwriting letters being input, extracting at least onecandidate handwriting word stored in advance in response to the inputhandwriting letters, displaying the extracted at least one candidatehandwriting word, and replacing the input handwriting letters with acandidate handwriting word selected from among the displayed at leastone candidate handwriting word.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the at least onecandidate handwriting word may be a word that is the same as, or similarto a word including the input handwriting letters.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the displayingof the extracted at least one candidate handwriting word may includedisplaying a word corresponding to the input handwriting letters in ashaded way.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the displayedstring may be stored in units of at least one of handwriting letters,handwriting keywords and handwriting phrases.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the at least onecandidate handwriting word may be applied and displayed in response tothe input handwriting letters, in real time.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the at least onecandidate handwriting word may be displayed after priority thereof isdetermined using at least one of storage order, input frequency, andrelationship with an adjacent keyword.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodfor creating handwriting content is provided. The method may includedisplaying a handwriting string being input, analyzing a keywordincluded in the input handwriting string, extracting an imagecorresponding to the keyword, and replacing the keyword with theextracted image, and displaying the replacement results including theextracted image.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the extractingof the image corresponding to the keyword may include converting thekeyword into a code, and extracting an image that is matched to theconverted code in advance.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the displayingof the replacement results may include replacing the keyword with anassociated extracted image in response to an input of the keyword, anddisplaying the replacement results, or after the input of the string iscompleted, extracting at least one image corresponding to at least onekeyword included in the completely input handwriting string, replacingthe keyword with the extracted image, and displaying the replacementresults.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, if the analyzedkeyword is selected in response to the analysis of the keyword,properties of the keyword may be changed so that a functioncorresponding to the analyzed keyword may be executed.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the function mayinclude at least one of an email function, a file access or executionfunction, an Internet access function, and a call function.

In accordance with further another aspect of the present disclosure, amethod for creating handwriting content is provided. The method mayinclude displaying a handwriting string being input, receiving settingsfor changing properties of the displayed handwriting string, andchanging properties of at least one keyword selected from the displayedhandwriting string into properties corresponding to the receivedsettings.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the method mayfurther include displaying a string including at least one keyword thathas properties that are changed in response to the received settings.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the settings mayinclude at least one of a pen-type setting, a thickness setting, and acolor setting to be applied to the selected at least one keyword.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the at least onekeyword may be selected based on at least one of trajectory of an inputunit and an area defined by the trajectory of the input unit, in thedisplayed string.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the method mayfurther include displaying trajectory in response to the settings, ifthe trajectory is input to select the at least one keyword.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a userdevice for creating handwriting content is provided. The user device mayinclude a screen configured to display a handwriting string being input,and a controller to extract at least one candidate handwriting wordstored in advance in response to handwriting letters included in theinput handwriting string, and to replace the handwriting letters with acandidate word selected from among the extracted at least one candidatehandwriting word.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the user devicemay further include a storage unit configured to store the handwritingstring being input in units of at least one of handwriting letters,handwriting keywords and handwriting phrases.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the controllermay display at least one candidate handwriting word corresponding to theinput letters on the screen in real time.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the controllermay determine priority of the extracted at least one candidatehandwriting word using at least one of storage order, input frequency,and relationship with an adjacent keyword, and displays the at least onecandidate handwriting word on the screen using the determined priority.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the controllermay extract an image corresponding to a keyword included in thehandwriting string, replace the keyword with the extracted image, anddisplay the replacement results on the screen.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the controllermay replace the keyword included in the string with an associatedextracted image in response to an input of the keyword, and displays thereplacement results on the screen. Otherwise, after the input of thestring is completed, the controller may extract at least one imagecorresponding to at least one keyword included in the completely inputstring, replace the keyword with the extracted image, and display thereplacement results including extracted image on the screen.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, if settings forchanging properties of the displayed string are received, the controllermay change properties of at least one keyword selected from thedisplayed string into properties corresponding to the received settings.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the controllermay convert at least one keyword included in the string being input intoa text, correct a typographical error of the at least one keyword usingthe text, and display the correction results on the screen.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a user device according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a user device according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of a user device according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an input unit according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of displaying at least one candidate wordcorresponding to letters being input according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of displaying a keyword corresponding toletters being input in a shaded way according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6C illustrates at least one candidate word corresponding to lettersbeing input according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A illustrates an example of displaying a string being inputaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8B illustrates an example of replacing a word corresponding to astring being input with an image according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 8C illustrates an example of a completely input string according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8D illustrates an example of replacing at least one keywordincluded in a completely input string with an image according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8E illustrates an example of displaying a string being inputaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8F illustrates an example of replacing a word corresponding to astring being input with an image according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 8G illustrates an example of a completely input string according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8H illustrates an example of changing properties of at least onekeyword included in a completely input string according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10A illustrates an example of displaying a string being inputaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B illustrates an example of changing properties of a string beinginput according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10C illustrates an example of selecting at least one word from aninput string according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10D illustrates an example of changing properties of a selected atleast one word according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method bymultiple users according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12A illustrates an example of displaying at least one candidateword corresponding to letters being input by multiple users according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12B illustrates an example of displaying keywords corresponding toletters being input by multiple users in a shaded way according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12C illustrates at least one candidate word corresponding toletters being input by a first user among multiple users according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12D illustrates at least one candidate word corresponding toletters being input by a second user among multiple users according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method bymultiple users according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14A illustrates an example of displaying strings being input bymultiple users according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14B illustrates an example of replacing words corresponding tostrings being input by multiple users with images according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood torefer to like parts, components, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of thedisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic,parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations orvariations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error,measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those ofskill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effectthe characteristic was intended to provide.

First, the terms used in the present disclosure will be defined asfollows.

User Device: A user device refers to a mobile terminal capable of datatransmission/reception and voice/video calls, and may be equipped withat least one digitizer. A user device may include smart phone, tabletPersonal Computer (PC), 3D-TV, smart TV, Light Emitting Diode (LED) TV,Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TV, an e-book reader, a desktop PC, alaptop PC, a netbook PC, an electronic blackboard, a Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), an mp3 player, amobile medical device, a camera, a wearable device (e.g., a Head-MountedDevice (HMD), electronic clothes, electronic braces, an electronicnecklace, an electronic appcessory, an electronic tattoo, or a smartwatch), a gaming console, an electronic dictionary, an electronic key, acamcorder, an electronic picture frame, a navigation device, a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) receiver, and the like, and may also includeany device capable of communicating with peripherals or other terminalslocated in remote areas. The user device may receive inputs frommultiple users at the same time. According to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a user device may be any combination of theforegoing devices. In addition, it will be apparent to one havingordinary skill in the art that a user device according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoingdevices.

Input Unit: An input unit may include at least one of a finger, anelectronic pen, a digital-type pen, a pen without an Integrated Circuit(IC), a pen with an IC, a pen with an IC and memory, a pen capable oflocal communication, a pen with an additional ultrasonic detector, a penwith an optical sensor, a joystick, a stylus pen, and the like, all ofwhich can provide commands or inputs to a user device if a touch is madeon a digitizer of the user device not only in a contact event, but alsoin a non-contact event (e.g., hovering event).

Handwriting Application: A handwriting application may include a varietyof document creation applications, such as a note application, a diaryapplication, a schedule application, a word application, and/or thelike, which can receive at least one of letters, words, and/or stringsbeing input with at least one of an input unit and a finger, and candisplay the input information on a screen.

Keyword: A keyword may include at least one of words, syllables, specialcharacters, email addresses, Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses,and the like which are input on a screen using an input unit or afinger, and paths to files or applications stored or installed in a userdevice, and may also include at least one of letters, phrases,characters, alphabets, symbols, and the like.

FIG. 1 illustrates a user device according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a user device 100 includes a controller 110, atleast one screen 120, at least one screen controller 130, acommunication unit 140, a multimedia unit 150, a power supply unit 160,a storage unit 170, and a camera unit 180.

The user device 100 may be connected to external devices (not shown)using at least one of a communication unit 140, a connector (not shown)and an earphone jack (not shown). The external devices may correspond toa wide variety of devices, such as earphones, external speakers,Universal Serial Bus (USB) memories, chargers, a cradle/dock, DigitalMultimedia Broadcasting (DMB) antennas, mobile payment-related devices,healthcare devices (e.g., blood glucose meters and the like), gameconsoles, car navigation devices, and/or the like, all of which aredetachable from the user device 100, and which can be connected to theuser device 100 by wires. The external devices may also includeBluetooth devices, Near Field Communication (NFC) devices, Wi-Fi Directdevices, wireless Access Points (APs), and the like, which can bewirelessly connected to the user device 100. The user device 100 may beconnected to other devices (e.g., portable terminals, smart phones,tablet PCs, desktop PCs, digitizers, input devices, cameras, servers,and the like) by wires or wirelessly.

The user device 100 may include the at least one screen 120 thatprovides a user with user interfaces corresponding to various services(e.g., call, data transfer, broadcasting, photo capturing, string input,and/or the like). Each of the at least one screen 120 may include a penrecognition device 121 and a touch recognition device 122. The penrecognition device 121 may configured to recognize an input that is madeusing at least one of an input unit and a finger. The touch recognitiondevice 122 may be configured to recognize a touch that is made by atleast one of the finger and the input unit. The pen recognition device121 and the touch recognition device 122 may be respectively called apen recognition panel and a touch recognition panel. Each of the atleast one screen 120 may transfer an analog signal corresponding to atleast one touch input to a user interface, to an associated screencontroller 130. Consequently, the user device 100 may include aplurality of screens 120, and may also include a plurality of screencontrollers 130 for receiving analog signals corresponding to touchinputs to the associated screens. The screens 120 may be coupled to aplurality of housings by being hinged, respectively, or may be mountedon one housing without being hinged. According to various embodiments ofthe present disclosure, the user device 100 may include at least onescreen 120 as described above, and for convenience of description, theuser device 100 will be assumed to have one screen 120.

A controller 110 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a ReadOnly Memory (ROM) storing a control program for control of the userdevice 100, and a Random Access Memory (RAM) that is used to temporarilystore signals or data received from the outside of the user device 100,or is used as a workspace for operations performed in the user device100. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the CPUmay include various number of cores. For example, the CPU may include asingle-core CPU, a dual-core CPU, a triple-core CPU, a quad-core CPU, orthe like.

The controller 110 may control the screen 120, the pen recognitiondevice 121, the touch recognition device 122, the screen controller 130,the communication unit 140, the multimedia unit 150, the power supply160, the storage unit 170, and the camera unit 180.

While various objects or strings being input are displayed on the screen120, the controller 110 may determine whether hovering is recognized asan input unit approaches any one object, and may identify an objectcorresponding to the position at which the hovering has occurred. Thecontroller 110 may detect a height from the screen 120 of the userdevice 100 to the input unit, and a hovering input event determinedbased on the height. The hovering input event may include at least oneof an event according to which a button formed on the input unit ispressed, an event according to which the input unit is tapped, an eventaccording to which the input unit moves faster than a predeterminedspeed, and an event according to which an object is touched.

The controller 110 may display handwriting letters being input on thescreen 120, extract at least one candidate word stored in advance inresponse to the input letters (or the letters being input), display theextracted at least one candidate word in real time, and replace theinput handwriting letters with a candidate word selected from thedisplayed at least one candidate word. The controller 110 may determineeach user by analyzing the handwriting of each user, which is beinginput to the screen 120. The controller 110 may determine each userbased on at least one of iris recognition or face recognition by acamera, fingerprint recognition by a fingerprint sensor included in apen, information about a pen ID assigned to each user, an ID of a userthat has presently logged in the system, and a user ID transmitted by adevice (e.g., a smart phone or a wearable device) by which the userinputs the handwriting. The controller 110 may display letters that areinput on the screen 120 by multiple users, extract at least onecandidate word stored in advance in response to the input letters byeach user, and display the extracted at least one candidate word in realtime. The controller 110 may recognize the handwriting of each of themultiple users, letters in the recognized handwriting being input on thescreen 120, read a recommended word corresponding to the input lettersamong the candidate words stored in advance from the storage unit 170for each user, and display the read recommended word on the screen 120.According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the at leastone candidate word may include the input handwriting letters. Accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least onecandidate word may be a word that is the same as, or similar to a wordincluding the handwriting letters being input. The controller 110 maydisplay a word corresponding to the input letters in a shaded way, andmay display a string including the replacing candidate word on thescreen 120. The controller 110 may store a string that is input to ordisplayed on the screen 120, in the storage unit 170 in units ofletters, words, or strings. The controller 110 may determine at leastone candidate word using at least one of storage order, input frequency,and relationship with an adjacent word among a plurality of letters,words, keywords, phrases, strings, and the like stored in advance in thestorage unit 170, and display the determined at least one candidate wordon the screen 120. The controller 110 may convert at least one ofletters, words, and string being input into a code, and extract at leastone candidate word using the code.

The controller 110 may display a string being input on the screen 120,analyze a keyword (or a word) included in the string being input,extract an image corresponding to the keyword, and replace the keywordbeing input with the extracted image. The controller 110 may convert thekeyword being input into a code, and extract an image that is matched tothe code in advance. The controller 110 may replace the keyword with anassociated extracted image in response to an input of the keyword, andmay display the replacement results. Otherwise, after the input of thestring is completed, the controller 110 may extract at least one imagecorresponding to at least one keyword included in the completely inputstring, may replace the keyword with the extracted image, and maydisplay the extracted image on the screen 120. The controller 110 maydisplay a string in which the keyword is replaced with the extractedimage. In the case in which the analyzed keyword corresponds to an emailaddress, if the email address is selected, the controller 110 may changethe properties of the keyword so that an email application may beexecuted. In the case in which the analyzed keyword corresponds to aphone number, if the phone number is selected, the controller 110 maychange the properties of the keyword so that a phone call (or a Callapplication) may be executed. In the case in which the analyzed keywordcorresponds to a URL, if the URL is selected, the controller 110 maychange the properties of the keyword so that an Internet accessapplication or program used to access a URL may be executed. In the casein which the analyzed keyword corresponds to an access path to any fileor application stored or installed in the user device 100, if thekeyword is selected, the controller 110 may change the properties of thekeyword so that the user device 100 may access or execute the file orapplication.

After displaying a string being input on the screen 120, if settings forchanging properties of the displayed string are received, the controller110 may change the properties of at least one keyword (or a word)selected from the displayed string into the properties corresponding tothe received settings, and may display the resulting properties on thescreen 120. The controller 110 may display a string including at leastone keyword having properties that are changed in response to thereceived settings. The settings may include at least one of pen-type, athickness, and color settings to be applied to the selected at least onekeyword. The at least one keyword may be selected based on at least oneof trajectory of an input unit and an area defined by the trajectory ofthe input unit, in the displayed string. If trajectory is input toselect at least one keyword, the controller 110 may display thetrajectory in response to the settings.

The controller 110 may convert at least one keyword (or a word) includedin the string being input to the screen 120 into a text, correcttypographical errors of the at least one keyword using the text, anddisplay the corrected text on the display 120.

The screen 120 may receive at least one touch that is made by the user'sbody (e.g., a finger including the thumb, and/or the like) or the touchinput unit (e.g., a stylus pen, an electronic pen, and/or the like). Thescreen 120 may recognize the handwritings which are input simultaneouslyby multiple users, and display the handwriting which is input by eachuser. The screen 120 may include the pen recognition device 121 forrecognizing a pen input made by a pen such as the stylus pen and theelectronic pen, and the touch recognition device 122 for recognizing atouch input made by the user's body. The pen recognition device 121 maydetermine a distance between the pen and the screen 120 based on themagnetic field, supersonic waves, optical information, surface acousticwaves, and/or the like, and the touch recognition device 122 may detecta touched position depending on the charges that are moved by the touch.The touch recognition device 122 may detect any kind of touch that cancause static electricity, and may also detect a touch made by thefinger, the pen, or the like, which is an input unit. The screen 120 mayreceive a continuous movement of one touch made to input a string, amongat least one touch. The screen 120 may transfer an analog signalcorresponding to the continuous movement of the touch made to input astring, to the screen controller 130.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the touchmay be construed to include not only the contact touch between thescreen 120 and the user's body or the touch input unit, but also thenon-contact touch (e.g., a hovering event) between the screen 120 andthe user's body or the touch input unit, a detectable gap between thescreen 120 and the user's body or the touch in put unit being set to apredetermined value. The detectable gap between the screen 120 and theuser's body or the touch input unit is subject to change depending onthe performance or structure of the user device 100. For example, thescreen 120 may be configured to separately detect a contact touch eventand a non-contact touch event (e.g., a hovering event) between thescreen 120 and the user's body or the touch input unit, and outputdifferent values (e.g., including, analog voltage values, currentvalues, and/or the like) detected by the contact touch event and thenon-contact touch event (e.g., the hovering event). The screen 120 maydifferently output the detected values (e.g., current values, and/or thelike) depending on the distance between the screen 120 and the space atwhich a hovering event occurs.

The pen recognition device 121 and/or the touch recognition device 122may be implemented in, for example, a resistive manner, a capacitivemanner, an infrared manner, an acoustic wave manner, and/or the like.

The screen 120 may include at least two touch screen panels capable ofdetecting a touch or an approach of the user's body and the touch inputunit, respectively, to sequentially or simultaneously receive inputsmade by the user's body and the touch input unit. The at least two touchscreen panels may provide different output values to the screencontroller 130, and the screen controller 130 may differently recognizethe values received from the at least two touch screen panels, anddetermine whether the input from the screen 120 is an input by theuser's body, or an input by the touch input unit. The screen 120 maydisplay at least one object or a string being input.

More specifically, the screen 120 may be formed in a structure in whicha touch panel for detecting an input by the finger or the input unitbased on a change in induction electromotive force, and a touch panelfor detecting an input by the finger or the input unit based on thetouch between the screen 120 and the finger or the input unit may bestacked in sequence to be in contact with each other, or to be partiallyseparated from each other. The screen 120 may include a plurality ofpixels, and may display an image using the pixels, or displayhandwriting content being input by the input unit or the finger. Thescreen 120 may use, as a panel thereof, LCD, Organic Light EmittingDiodes (OLED), LED), and the like.

The screen 120 may include a plurality of sensors that detect theposition at which the finger or the input unit is in contact with thesurface of the screen 120, or is put over the screen 120 with apredetermined gap. Each of the plurality of sensors may be formed in acoil structure, and a sensor layer formed of the plurality of sensorsmay have patterns in which the sensors are set in advance. A pluralityof electrode lines may be formed on the sensor layer. In this structure,if a contact or hovering input occurs on the screen 120 through thefinger or the input unit, a detection signal that has waveforms that arechanged due to the change in capacitance between the sensor layer andthe input unit may be generated in the touch recognition device 122, andthe screen 120 may transfer the generated detection signal to thecontroller 110. The predetermined gap between the input unit and the penrecognition device 121 may be determined depending on the strength ofthe magnetic field formed by the coil.

The screen controller 130 may convert a received analog signal into adigital signal (e.g., X and Y coordinates) based on a string being inputon the screen 120, and transfer the digital signal to the controller110. The controller 110 may control the screen 120 using the digitalsignal received from the screen controller 130. For example, in responseto a touch event or a hovering event, the controller 110 may select orexecute a shortcut icon (not shown) or an object displayed on the screen120. The screen controller 130 may be incorporated into the controller110.

The screen controller 130 may determine the distance between the screen120 and the space at which an hovering event occurs, by detecting thevalues (e.g., current values, and the like) output from the screen 120,and may convert the determined distance value into a digital signal(e.g., Z coordinates) and provide the digital signal to the controller110.

The communication unit 140 may include a mobile communication unit (notshown), a sub-communication unit (not shown), a wireless Local AreaNetwork (LAN) unit (not shown), and a short-distance communication unit(not shown) depending on the communication scheme, the transmissiondistance, and the type of data to be transmitted and received. Themobile communication unit, under control of the controller 110, mayconnect the user device 100 to an external device through mobilecommunication using at least one or multiple antennas (not shown). Themobile communication unit may exchange wireless signals for voice calls,video calls, Short Message Service (SMS) messages or MultimediaMessaging Service (MMS) messages, with a cell phone (not shown), a smartphone (not shown), a tablet PC (not shown) or other devices (not shown),phone numbers of all of which are input in the user device 100. Thesub-communication unit may include at least one of a wireless LAN unit(not shown) and a short-distance communication unit (not shown). Forexample, the sub-communication unit may include any one or both of thewireless LAN unit and the short-range communication unit. Thesub-communication unit may exchange control signals with the input unit.Control signals exchanged between the user device 100 and the input unitmay include at least one of a field for supplying power to the inputunit, a field for detecting a touch or hover input between the inputunit and the screen 120, a field for detecting a situation in which abutton mounted on the input unit is pressed or input, a field indicatingan identifier of the input unit, a field indicating X and Y coordinatesat which the input unit is located, and the like. The input unit maytransmit a feedback signal for the control signal received from the userdevice 100, to the user device 100. The wireless LAN unit, under controlof the controller 110, may be connected to the Internet in the place atwhich a wireless Access Point (AP) (not shown) is installed. Thewireless LAN unit may support the WLAN standard IEEE802.11x proposed byInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Theshort-range communication unit, under control of the controller 110, mayenable wireless short-range communication between the user device 100and an image forming device (not shown). The short-range communicationscheme may include Bluetooth, Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Wi-FiDirect, NFC, and/or the like.

Using at least one of the sub-communication unit and the wireless LANunit, the controller 110 may communicate with an adjacent communicationdevice or a communication device located in a remote area, receive avariety of data such as images, emoticons, photos, and/or the like overthe Internet, and communicate with the input unit. The communicationbetween the controller 110 and the communication device and/or the inputunit may be performed by exchange of control signals.

The user device 100 may include at least one of the mobile communicationunit, the wireless LAN unit, and the short-range communication unitdepending on a configuration of the user device 100. The user device 100may include a combination of the mobile communication unit, the wirelessLAN unit, and the short-range communication unit depending on aconfiguration of the user device 100. According to various embodimentsof the present disclosure, at least one of the mobile communicationunit, the wireless LAN unit, the screen, and the short-rangecommunication unit, or a combination thereof will be referred to as atransceiver unit. However, such reference is not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure.

The multimedia unit 150 may include a broadcasting & communication unit(not shown), an audio playback unit (not shown), and/or a video playbackunit (not shown). The broadcasting & communication unit, under controlof the controller 110, may receive broadcast signals (e.g., TV broadcastsignals, radio broadcast signals, data broadcast signals, and/or thelike) and additional broadcast information (e.g., Electronic ProgramGuide (EPG), Electronic Service Guide (ESG), and/or the like), which aretransmitted from broadcasting stations via a broadcasting &communication antenna (not shown). The audio playback unit, undercontrol of the controller 110, may play stored or received digital audiofiles (e.g., with a file extension of mp3, wma, ogg, wav, and/or thelike). The video playback unit, under control of the controller 110, mayplay stored or received digital video files (e.g., with a file extensionof mpeg, mpg, mp4, avi, mov, mkv, and/or the like). The video playbackunit may play digital audio files as well.

The power supply 160, under control of the controller 110, may supplypower to one or multiple batteries (not shown) mounted in the housing ofthe user device 100. One or multiple batteries (not shown) may supplypower to the user device 100. The power supply 160 may supply, to theuser device 100, the power that is received from the external powersource (not shown) via a wired cable connected to a connector (notshown). The power supply 160 may supply, to the user device 100, thepower that is wirelessly received from the external power source usingwireless charging technology.

The storage unit 170, under control of the controller 110, may store thesignals or data which are input/output in response to operations of thecommunication unit 140, the multimedia unit 150, the screen 120 and thecamera unit 180. The storage unit 170 may store a control program forcontrol of the user device 100 or the controller 110, and a variety ofapplications.

The storage unit 170 may include a non-volatile memory, a volatilememory, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), a Solid State Drive (SSD), and/or thelike.

The storage unit 170 may store at least one of letters, words, strings,and the like being input to the screen 120, and may store a variety ofdata that the user receives over the Internet, such as texts, images,emoticons, icons, and/or the like. The storage unit 170 may store atleast one of letters, words and strings including at least one of thehandwriting and preferred words for each of multiple users. The storageunit 170 may store applications of a variety of functions, such as anavigation application, a video call application, a gaming application,a time-based user alarm application, and/or the like, images used toprovide Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) related to such applications,databases or data related to user information, documents and methods forprocessing touch inputs, background images (e.g., menu screens, standbyscreens, and/or the like) or applications needed to drive the userdevice 100, and images captured by the camera unit 180. The storage unit170 is a non-transitory machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable)medium, and the term ‘machine-readable medium’ may be defined as amedium that provides a machine so that the machine may execute aspecific function. The machine-readable medium may be storage media. Thestorage unit 170 may include non-volatile media and volatile media. Forall of these media, commands carried by the media should be a type ofcommands that can be detected by a physical mechanism that reads thecommands by the machine.

The camera unit 180 may include at least one camera. According tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure, the camera unit 180 ofthe user device 100 may include at least one of a barrel unit (notshown) for zoom-in/out of at least one camera, a motor unit (not shown)for controlling movement of the barrel unit, for controlling zoom-in/outof the barrel unit, a flash (not shown) for providing a light source forimage/video capturing, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a user device according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective viewof a user device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the screen 120 may be disposed in the centerof the front 100 a of the user device 100. The screen 120 may be formedlarge enough to occupy most of the front 100 a of the user device 100.FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a main home screen 190 displayed on thescreen 120. The main home screen 190 may be the first screen that isdisplayed on the screen 120 when the user device 100 is powered onand/or activated. If the user device 100 has different home screens ofmultiple pages, the main home screen 190 may be the first home screenamong the home screens of multiple pages. Short icons 191-1 (e.g., toactivate a phone-calling function), 191-2 (e.g., to activate a contactsfunction), and 191-3 (e.g., to activate a message composition/viewingfunction) used to execute frequently used applications, a main menuswitch key 191-4, time, weather, and/or the like may be displayed on themain home screen 190. The main menu switch key 191-4 may be used todisplay a menu screen on the screen 120. A status bar 192 indicating thestatus of the user device 100, such as battery level, received signalstrength, current time, and/or the like may be displayed on the top ofthe screen 120.

Under the screen 120 may be formed a home button 161 a, a menu button161 b, and a back button 161 c.

The home button 161 a may be used to display the main home screen 190 onthe screen 120. For example, if the home button 161 a is touched whileany home screen different from the main home screen 190, or a menuscreen is displayed on the screen 120, the main home screen 190 may bedisplayed on the screen 120. If the home button 161 a is touched whileapplications are executed on the screen 120, the main home screen 190shown in FIG. 2 may be displayed on the screen 120. The home button 161a may also be used to display recently used applications on the screen120, or to display a task manager.

The menu button 161 b provides connection menus that can be used on thescreen 120. For example, the connection menus may include an add widgetmenu, a change wallpaper menu, a search menu, an edit menu, a preferencemenu, and/or the like.

The back button 161 c may be used to display the previously run screenpreceding the currently running screen, or to exit the last usedapplication.

On the edge of the front 100 a of the user device 100 may be disposed afirst camera 151, a speaker 163, an ambient light sensor 170 a, and/or aproximity sensor 170 b. On the rear 100 c of the user device 100 may bedisposed a second camera 152, a flash 153, and a speaker 163.

On the sides 100 b of the user device 100 may be disposed, for example,a power/reset button 161 d, volume buttons 161 e including, for example,a volume up button 161 f and a volume down button 161 g, a terrestrialDMB antenna 141 a for broadcast reception, and one or multiplemicrophones 162. The DMB antenna 141 a may be fixed to the user device100, or may be detachably formed in the user device 100.

A connector 165 may be formed in the lower side of the user device 100.The connector 165 may have multiple electrodes formed therein, and maybe connected to the external devices by wires. An earphone jack 167 maybe formed in the upper side of the user device 100. Earphones may beinserted into the earphone jack 167.

An input unit 168 may be mounted in the lower side of the user device100. The input unit 168 may be kept inside the user device 100, and maybe pulled out and detached from the user device 100 when the input unit168 is in use.

FIG. 4 illustrates an input unit according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, an input unit 168 (e.g., an Electro-Magnetic Resonance (EMR)pen) may include a penholder, a penpoint 435 disposed at an end of thepenholder, a coil 410 disposed in an area adjacent to the penpoint 435inside the penholder, a button 415, a vibration device 420, a controller430 a short-range communication unit 440, and a power supply 450. Theinput unit 168 may also include a speaker 460 and/or the like. Thecontroller 430 may be configured to analyze a control signal receivedfrom the user device 100, to control the vibration strength andvibration cycle of the vibration device 420, to control short-rangecommunication, and to control detection of the handwriting pressure. Theshort-range communication unit 440 may be configured to performshort-range communication with the user device 100. The power supply 450may be configured to supply the necessary power to the input unit 168.The input unit 168 may include a fingerprint recognition sensor 470 forrecognizing the user's fingerprint. The fingerprint recognition sensor470 may be mounted outside the input unit 168, and may determine a userby detecting the user's fingerprint. The input unit 168 may include aResistance-Capacitance (RC) circuit used to perform communication withthe user device 100, and the RC circuit may be included in the inputunit 168, or may be incorporated into the controller 430. The input unit168 may include a speaker 460 configured to output the soundcorresponding to the vibration cycle and/or vibration strength of theinput unit 168. The speaker 460 may output the sound at the time thesound is output from the speaker 163 mounted in the user device 100, orthe speaker 460 may output the sound a predetermined time (e.g., 10 ms)before or after the sound is output from the speaker 163.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the inputunit 168 having such a structure may support an electromagneticinduction scheme. If a magnetic field is formed around a coil mounted ata certain point of the pen recognition device 121 by the coil 410, thepen recognition device 121 may recognize the position of the input unit168 by detecting the position of the magnetic field.

More specifically, the speaker 460, under control of the controller 430,may output the sound corresponding to various signals (e.g., wirelesssignals, broadcast signals, digital audio files, digital video files,and/or the like) from the mobile communication unit, thesub-communication unit or the multimedia unit 150 in the user device100. The speaker 460 may output the sound (e.g., button manipulationtones for phone calls, or ring back tones) corresponding to a functionexecuted by the user device 100. One or multiple speakers 460 may bemounted in a proper position or positions of the housing of the inputunit 168.

The controller 430 may analyze at least one control signal received fromthe user device 100 via the short-range communication unit 440, andcontrol the vibration cycle and vibration strength of the vibrationdevice 420 mounted in the input unit 168 depending on the analyzedcontrol signal. The controller 430 may transmit a feedback signalcorresponding to the received control signal, or input unit statusinformation (e.g., battery level, communication status, identificationinformation, and/or the like), to the user device 100. The controlsignal is a signal that is exchanged between the user device 100 and theinput unit 168, and may be periodically exchanged for a predeterminedtime or until hovering is terminated. The power supply 450 for supplyingpower for operation of the controller 430 may be charged with thecurrent induced from the user device 100. The control signal may betransmitted to the input unit 168 by at least one of the mobilecommunication unit and the sub-communication unit in the user device100.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, at operation S510, when a user intends to create ordraw up handwriting content, the screen 120 may display handwritingletters being input. The screen 120, under control of the controller110, may display a string including letters, words, and/or at least onekeyword (or word) being input. The screen 120 may display letters, wordsand/or keywords being input by at least one user. The displayed stringmay be stored in the storage unit 170 in units of at least one ofletters, words, phrases, and sentences. The letter may include at leastone of one syllable for Korean and one character for English. It will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various embodimentsof the present disclosure may be applied not only to Korean and English,but also to a variety of other languages used in different countries,such as Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and/or thelike.

At operation S512, the controller 110 may display at least one candidateword stored in advance in response to the input letters. The screen 120may display at least one candidate word for each user in response to thehandwriting letters being input by at least one user. According tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller 110 mayextract at least one candidate word stored in advance in response to theinput handwriting letters, and display the extracted candidate word. Theat least one candidate word may be a word including the input letters.For example, if the user desiring to input or enter a keyword (e.g., ‘

(school)’) inputs the first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), the controller 110 may extract at least one candidate word using theinput first syllable. The extracted at least one candidate word mayinclude at least one word whose first syllable is the same as the inputfirst syllable (e.g., ‘

’), such as ‘

(student)’, ‘

(school)’, ‘

(parents)’ and ‘

(study)’, and may also include at least one word (e.g., ‘

(school)’). Each word may be singular in number, or may be plural innumber due to the difference between the user's handwritings. Thecontroller 110 may extract multiple words (e.g., ‘

(school)’), and the extracted multiple words (e.g., ‘

(school)’) may be different from each other in terms of thehandwritings. Similarly, if the user desiring to input a word (e.g.,‘school’) inputs the first character (e.g., ‘s’), the controller 110 mayextract at least one candidate word using the input first character(e.g., ‘s’). The extracted at least one candidate word may include atleast one word whose first character is the same as the input firstcharacter (e.g., ‘s’), such as ‘student’, ‘school’, ‘study’ and‘sister’, and may also include at least one word (e.g., ‘school’). Eachword may be singular in number, or may be plural in number due to thedifference between the user's handwritings. The controller 110 mayextract multiple words (e.g., ‘school’), and the extracted multiplewords (e.g., ‘school’) may be different from each other in terms of thehandwritings.

The controller 110 may convert the input letters into a text, andextract at least one candidate word corresponding to the text. Thecontroller 110 may convert letters being input by at least one user intoa text, and extract at least one candidate handwriting wordcorresponding to the letters input by each user in response to theconverted text. The controller 110 may convert the input letters into acode, and extract at least one candidate word using the code. Eachcandidate word may be stored in advance in the storage unit 170 afterbeing converted into a text, and a font of each candidate word maycorrespond to the font created in advance by the user, or the fontprovided by default in the user device 100. The at least one candidateword may be stored in the storage unit 170 after a priority of the atleast one candidate word is determined using at least one of storageorder, input frequency for the word input by the user, and relationshipbetween the input word and a word adjacent thereto. The fonts may varydepending on the language, and may include a variety of fonts such asGungseoche, Myoungjoche, Goolimche and Batangche, for Korean. The atleast one candidate word may include a word that is the same as, orsimilar to a word including the input handwriting letters. The at leastone candidate word may be displayed in a separate pop-up window on thescreen 120. For the pop-up window, a size and/or display positionthereof may be variably adjusted depending on at least one of the numberof candidate words, the types of candidate words, and the number ofwords with the same meaning. The at least one candidate word may includea plurality of the same words, and the plurality of the same words maybe included in (or may belong to) at least one candidate word, becauseeach time the word is handwritten by the user, its handwriting may bedifferent. Specifically, the same words may be included in the candidateword, because even though the user handwrites the same word, thehandwriting or the pixels in the area at which the word is handwrittenmay be different. The displayed at least one candidate word may bedisplayed on the screen 120 by being applied in real time in response tothe input letters.

The controller 110 may display the word including the handwritingletters being input on the screen 120 in a shaded way. If the firstsyllable (e.g., ‘

’) is input, the controller 110 may display a word with the highestpriority on the screen 120 in a shaded way. The priority may bedetermined using at least one of storage order, input frequency,relationship with an adjacent word, and the like for the word beinginput. For example, as the first syllable (e.g., ‘

’) is input, the controller 110 may display at least one remainingsyllable (e.g., ‘

’) except for the first syllable (e.g., ‘

’) of the word (e.g., ‘

(school)’) with the highest priority, on the screen 120 in a shaded way.Similarly, in the case of English, as the first character (e.g., ‘s’) isinput, the controller 110 may display at least one remaining character(e.g., ‘chool’) except for the first character (e.g., ‘s’) of the word(e.g., ‘school’) with the highest priority, on the screen 120 in ashaded way. For example, as the first character is input, the controller110 may display recommended remaining characters corresponding to arecommended candidate word.

At operation S514, the controller 110 may determine whether anycandidate word is selected.

If the controller 110 determines that no candidate word is selected atoperation S514, then the controller 110 may proceed to operation S512.

In contrast, if the controller 110 determines that any candidate word isselected at operation S514, then the controller 110 may proceed tooperation S516 at which the controller 110 may replace the word beinginput with the selected candidate word, and display the replacementresults. The controller 110 may replace the word being input by eachuser with any candidate word selected by each user, and display thereplacement results on the screen 120. At least one candidate word maybe displayed depending on its priority based on the first syllable orthe first character that is input to the screen 120. If any candidateword is selected by the user while the at least one candidate word isdisplayed, the selected candidate word may be displayed on the screen120, replacing the word being input. The arbitrary candidate word may bea word the user desires to input. For example, if the user desiring toinput a word (e.g., ‘

(school)’) inputs the first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), the controller 110 may extract at least one candidate word using theinput first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), and display the extracted at least one candidate word on the screen120 depending on a priority of the extracted at least one candidateword. If a candidate word (e.g., ‘

(school)’) is selected by the user while the at least one candidate wordis displayed, the controller 110 may replace the input first syllable(e.g., ‘

’) with the selected candidate word (e.g., ‘

(school)’), and display the replacement results (e.g., ‘

(school)’) on the screen 120. According to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, through the above process, the user is enabled tocreate handwriting content. A more detailed example of the handwritinginput method according to various embodiments of the present disclosurewill be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate an example of a handwriting input methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Specifically, FIG. 6A illustrates an example of displaying at least onecandidate word corresponding to letters being input according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 6B illustrates an example ofdisplaying a keyword corresponding to letters being input in a shadedway according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 6Cillustrates at least one candidate word corresponding to letters beinginput according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a handwriting application 610 may be displayed onthe screen 120 of the user device 100. The handwriting application 610may be provided with at least one function that is to be applied tohandwriting content being input. The at least one function may include abackground menu 611 for attaching at least one of photos, images,emoticons, and the like, or for changing the background in whichhandwriting content is displayed, a pen settings menu 612 for settingthe pen type, thickness, color, and/or the like to be applied to astring being input; a clear menu 613 for clearing the created letters ordrawings, an undo menu 614 for undoing the created letters or drawings,and a redo menu 615 for redoing the deleted or undone content.

If the user inputs a string 630 to the handwriting application 610 usingthe input unit 168, a pop-up window 620 may be displayed, which includesat least one candidate word corresponding to at least one letter (e.g.,‘mo’) that is currently being input or was most recently input, in theinput string 630. The at least one candidate word displayed in thepop-up window 620 may be different depending on the input letters. Forexample, if the letter being input is ‘m’, at least one candidate wordcorresponding to the input letter (e.g., ‘m’) may be displayed in thepop-up window 620 depending on the priority. If at least one letterbeing input is ‘mo’, at least one candidate word corresponding to theinput at least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’) may be displayed in the pop-upwindow 620 depending on the priority. More specifically, if a letterbeing input is ‘m’, at least one candidate word may include at least oneword whose first character starts with ‘m’, or may include at least oneword whose first character starts with ‘m’, among the words drawn up inadvance by the user. For example, if the letter being input is ‘m’, theat least one candidate word may include a variety of words starting with‘m’, such as ‘mom’, ‘Monday’, ‘melon’, ‘miracle’ and ‘mystery’, and mayalso include at least one word corresponding to a variety ofhandwritings, for each of the words. If ‘mo’ is input to the handwritingapplication 610 as the user inputs ‘o’ after inputting the firstcharacter ‘m’, at least one candidate word may include a variety ofwords starting with ‘mo’, such as ‘mom’, ‘Monday’, ‘morning’ and‘mother’, and may also include at least one word corresponding to avariety of handwritings, for each of the words. At least one wordincluded in the pop-up window 620 may be changed, deleted or added inresponse to the at least one syllable or at least one character beinginput. The change, deletion, or addition may be applied in real time tothe syllable or character being input. According to various embodimentsof the present disclosure, the user is enabled to variably adjust theposition and size of the displayed pop-up window 620. In response to theadjustment of the size of the pop-up window 620, the number of candidatewords displayed in the pop-up window 620 may be adjusted depending onrespective priorities of the candidate words. The pop-up window 620 willbe described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 6C.

Referring to FIG. 6B, if at least one letter that is currently beinginput with the input unit 168 is ‘mo’, the pop-up window 620 includingat least one word (e.g., ‘mom’, ‘Monday’, ‘morning’, ‘mother’, and thelike) corresponding to the input letters ‘mo’ may be displayed asillustrated in FIG. 6A. For a variety of candidate words included in thepop-up window 620, respective priorities thereof may be determined basedon at least one of storage order, input frequency, relationship with aword adjacent to the input word or letters (e.g., ‘mo’), and/or thelike. In this case, the controller 110 may display the remainingsyllables or characters 640 (e.g., ‘rning’) of a word with the highestpriority among the candidate words on the screen 120 in a shaded way inresponse to the at least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’) being input.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontroller 110 may display candidate words so as to display less than athreshold number of candidate words. The controller 110 may determinewhich candidate words to display based on an order of priorities (e.g.,so as to display the candidate words having higher relative priorities).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontroller 110 may display both or at least one of the pop-up window 620described in FIG. 6A and the remaining characters 640 described in FIG.6B on the screen 120. The position at which the remaining characters 640(e.g., ‘rning’) are displayed in a shaded way and the position at whichthe pop-up window 620 is displayed, may or may not overlap on the screen120.

Referring to FIG. 6C, if a string is input, the pop-up window 620 may bedisplayed, which includes at least one candidate word corresponding toat least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’) that is currently being input or wasmost recently input, in the input string. The at least one candidateword displayed in the pop-up window 620 may be different depending onthe input letters. As in the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 6A,if at least one letter being input is ‘mo’, the pop-up window 620 maydisplay at least one candidate word corresponding to the input at leastone letter (e.g., ‘mo’). The at least one candidate word may include‘morning’ 621, ‘monday’ 624, ‘mother’ 625′, and the like, all of whichstart with the input at least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’), and may alsoinclude at least one word 622 and 623 corresponding to a variety ofhandwritings for the word ‘morning’ with the highest priority among theat least one candidate words. Although the at least one words 621, 622and 623 are the same words, the respective handwritings thereof may bedifferent from each other because the words are handwritten by the user.The at least one words 621, 622 and 623 may be listed in order of goodhandwriting or recently input word. The at least one word included inthe pop-up window 620 may be a word stored in advance in the storageunit 170, or a word received over the Internet. According to variousembodiments of the present disclosure, the plurality of same words maybe displayed so as to allow the user to select a preferred one of theplurality of displayed same words.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, at operation S710, when the user desires to createor draw up handwriting content, the screen 120 may display a stringbeing input. The screen 120, under control of the controller 110, maydisplay a string including letters, words or at least one word beinginput. The screen 120 may display the letters, words or keywords beinginput by at least one user. The displayed string may be stored in thestorage unit 170 in units of at least one of letters, words, phrases,and sentences. The letter may include at least one of one syllable forKorean and one character for English.

At operation S712, the controller 110 may extract an image correspondingto at least one word included in the string being input. The controller110 may extract at least one image corresponding to a word included inthe string being input. The controller 110 may extract at least onecandidate word for each user in response to the handwriting lettersbeing input by at least one user. The controller 110 may convert a wordincluded in the string being input into a code, and extract an imagethat is matched to the code in advance. The controller 110 may analyze aword included in the string being input, and extract an imagecorresponding to the input word based on the analysis results. Forexample, if the user inputs a word ‘

(taxi)’, the controller 110 may extract at least one image correspondingto the input word ‘

(taxi)’ from the storage unit 170. The image may be an image that isstored in advance in the storage unit 170, or an image that is receivedthrough a communication scheme such as the Internet. The controller 110may analyze a word included in the string being input. In the case inwhich the analyzed word corresponds to an email address, if the emailaddress is selected, properties or attributes of the analyzed word maybe changed so that an email application may be executed. In the case inwhich the analyzed word corresponds to a phone number, if the phonenumber is selected, the controller 110 may change properties of theanalyzed word so that a phone call may be executed. According to variousembodiments of the present disclosure, a handwriting input method may beimplemented by selecting an input word corresponding not only to theemail address and phone number, but also to a variety of other functionssuch as a video function, a messaging function, a photo capturefunction, and/or the like.

The controller 110 may convert the word being input into a text, andextract at least one image corresponding to the text. The controller 110may convert handwriting letters being input by at least one user into atext, and extract at least one candidate word corresponding to thehandwriting letters being input by each user in response to theconverted text. The controller 110 may convert the word being input intoa code, and extract at least one image using the code. Each image may bestored in advance in the storage unit 170 after being matched to itsassociated word using the text or the code. The at least one image maybe stored in the storage unit 170 after a priority thereof is determinedusing at least one of storage order, selection frequency for the wordinput by the user, and relationship between the input word and itsadjacent word. The at least one image may be displayed in a separatepop-up window on the screen 120. For the pop-up window, a size or adisplay position thereof may be variably adjusted depending on at leastone of the number of images, the types of images, the number of imageswith the same meaning, and/or the like. As for the at least one image, aplurality of images may be included in (or may belong to) the same word.For example, in the case of dogs, there may be a plurality of imagescorresponding to a variety of dogs depending on the types of dogs, sothe images corresponding to a variety of dogs may be included in the atleast one image. The displayed at least one image may be displayed onthe screen 120 by being applied in real time in response to the wordbeing input.

At operation S714, the controller 110 may replace the word with theextracted image and display the replacement results. An imagecorresponding to the word being input to the screen 120 may beextracted, and the extracted image may be displayed on the screen 120,replacing the word being input. The controller 110 may replace the wordbeing input by each user with the extracted image for each user, anddisplay the replacement results on the screen 120. As for the extractionof an image corresponding to the word being input, if the user matcheswords with associated images in advance, or if there are file names ofimages, the controller 110 may convert the word being input into a text,and extract an image matching with the text. The controller 110 mayextract an image and replace the word being input with the extractedword in real time, in response to an input of the word. Alternatively,after the content that the user desires to input is fully created, thecontroller 110 may extract an image corresponding to at least one wordincluded in the content and replace the word with the extracted image.If the input of the word is completed, the controller 110 may replacethe input word with the extracted image in response to the input of theword, and display the replacement results. Alternatively, after thestring being input is completed, or after the desired handwritingcontent is fully created or input, the controller 110 may extract atleast one image corresponding to at least one word included in thecompletely input string, replace the word with the extracted image, anddisplay the replacement results. Another example of the handwritinginput method according to various embodiments of the present disclosurewill be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8H.

FIGS. 8A to 8H illustrate an example of creating handwriting content byinputting a string according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Specifically, FIG. 8A illustrates an example of displaying a stringbeing input according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG.8B illustrates an example of replacing a word corresponding to a stringbeing input with an image according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, FIG. 8C illustrates an example of a completely input stringaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 8Dillustrates an example of replacing at least one keyword included in acompletely input string with an image according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, FIG. 8E illustrates an example of displaying astring being input according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,FIG. 8F illustrates an example of replacing a word corresponding to astring being input with an image according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, FIG. 8G illustrates an example of a completely inputstring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 8Hillustrates an example of changing properties of at least one wordincluded in a completely input string according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8A, a screen 810 a may display a string that is beingcreated or handwritten by the user with the input unit 168. The stringbeing input may include a word (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)’) that can be replaced with an image. In the case where thestring being input is ‘

(Today)

(Ppobi)’, if the input of the word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 is completed, the controller 110 may convert the input word‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 into a text, determine whether an image corresponding tothe input word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 is present in the storage unit 170, using the text, andextract the image depending on the determination results. The controller110 may replace the input word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 with the extracted image as illustrated in FIG. 8B.

Referring to FIG. 8B, if the word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, which can be replaced with an image in the string beinginput, is input in FIG. 8A, the controller 110 may determine whether animage 821 corresponding to the input word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 is present in the storage unit 170, replace the input word‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 with the extracted image 821, and display the replacementresults on a screen 820 a. If there is no image used for replacing theinput word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, the controller 110 may extract at least one image used forreplacing the input word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 from the storage unit 170, or download an image over theInternet, and recommend the extracted or downloaded image to the user.

Referring to FIG. 8C, a screen 810 b may display a string that is beingcreated or handwritten by the user with the input unit 168. The stringbeing input may include a word (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)’, ‘

(taxi)’, ‘

(hospital)’) that can be replaced with an image. If the string beinginput is ‘

(Today)

(Ppobi)

(taxi)

(hospital)

(went)’, the controller 110 may convert the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, ‘

(taxi)’ 812 and ‘

(hospital)’ 813 into respective associated texts, determine whetherimages corresponding to the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, ‘

(taxi)’ 812 and ‘

(hospital)’ 813 are present in the storage unit 170, using the texts,and extract the images depending on the determination results. Thecontroller 110 may simultaneously replace the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, ‘

(taxi)’ 812 and ‘

(hospital)’ 813 with respective associated extracted images, asillustrated in FIG. 8D.

Referring to FIG. 8D, the controller 110 may simultaneously replace, ona screen 820 b, the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, ‘

(taxi)’ 812 and ‘

(hospital)’ 813 with respective associated extracted imagescorresponding to at least one word (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, ‘

(taxi)’ 812 and ‘

(hospital)’ 813) included in the string that was input in FIG. 8C.Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 8D, the controller 110 maysimultaneously replace the input word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811 with a ‘

(Ppobi)’ image 821 extracted in response to the input word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 811, replace the input word ‘

(taxi)’ 812 with a ‘

(taxi)’ image 822 extracted in response to the input word ‘

(taxi)’ 812, and replace the input word ‘

(hospital)’ 813 with a ‘

(hospital)’ image 823 extracted in response to the input word ‘

(hospital)’ 813.

Referring to FIG. 8E, a screen 830 a may display a string that is beingcreated or handwritten by the user with the input unit 168. The stringbeing input may include a word (e.g., ‘

(Samsung)’) that can be replaced with an image. In the case in which thestring being input is ‘

(Today)

(Samsung)’, if the input of the word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 is completed, the controller 110 may convert the inputword ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 into a text, determine whether an image corresponding toinput word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 is present in the storage unit 170, using the text, andextract the image depending on the determination results. The controller110 may replace the input word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 with the extracted image as illustrated in FIG. 8F.

Referring to FIG. 8F, if the word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831, which can be replaced with an image in the string beinginput, is input in FIG. 8E, the controller 110 may determine whether animage (e.g., Samsung logo) 841 corresponding to the input word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 is present in the storage unit 170, replace the inputword ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 with the extracted image 841, and display the replacementresults on a screen 840 a. If there is no image used for replacing theinput word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831, the controller 110 may extract at least one image usedfor replacing the input word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 from the storage unit 170, or download an image over theInternet, and recommend the extracted or downloaded image to the user.

Referring to FIG. 8G, a screen 830 b may display a string that is beingcreated or handwritten by the user with the input unit 168. The stringbeing input may include a keyword (e.g., ‘

(Samsung)’) that can be replaced with an image, and a keyword (e.g., atleast one of 000@samsung.com and http://www.samsung.com) whoseproperties can be changed. As for the change in properties, if at leastone keyword included in the string is selected, the controller 110 maychange the properties of the keyword so that a program or applicationcorresponding to the selected keyword may be executed. The changing ofthe properties may include not only the Internet access and emailtransfer, but also storage in the user device 100, or going to the pathto any file or application stored or installed in the user device 100.If the string being input is ‘

(Today)

(Samsung)

(latest news)

http://www.samsung.com

(access)

(results)

000@samsung.com

(sent)’, the controller 110 may convert the input keyword ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 into a text, determine whether an image corresponding tothe input keyword ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 is present in the storage unit 170, using the text, andextract the image depending on the determination results. In addition,the controller 110 may convert each of the input email address 832 andURL address 833 into a text, and determine whether the input wordcorrespond to an email address. If the email address 832 is selected,the controller 110 may change properties of the email address 832 sothat an email application may be executed. If the URL address 833 isselected, the controller 110 may change properties of the URL address833 so that an Internet access application may be executed. As to thechange in properties, if an address is selected as a hyperlink,properties of the email address may be changed so that a separate windowmay be open or so that the email address may be selected, the propertiesmay be changed so that an email application may be executed. An emailaddress of a sender may be an email address of the original user of theuser device 100. As to the change in properties, the properties may bechanged so that an Internet access application capable of accessing aURL may be executed, or may include going to the path to any file orapplication stored or installed in the user device 100. The controller110 may simultaneously replace the input words with respectiveassociated extracted image and words whose properties are changed, asillustrated in FIG. 8D.

Referring to FIG. 8H, as illustrated on the screen 840 b, the controller110 may simultaneously replace the input words with their associatedextracted image and keywords (or words) whose properties are changed, inresponse to at least one keyword (or word) included in the string thatwas input in FIG. 8G, or may change properties of the input words. Asillustrated in FIG. 8H, the controller 110 may simultaneously replacethe input word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831 with the ‘

(Samsung)’ image 841 extracted in response to the input word ‘

(Samsung)’ 831, replace the input email address 832 with an emailaddress 842 whose properties are changed, in response to the input emailaddress 832, and replace the input URL address 833 with a URL address843 whose properties are changed, in response to the input URL address833. As illustrated, the replacing keywords 842 and 843 may beunderlined to help the user know the change in the properties.Alternatively, for the replacing keywords 842 and 843, colors of thekeywords may be changed, or their font may be changed to a variety offonts such as Gungseoche, Myoungjoche, Goolimche and Batangche, to helpthe user know the change in the properties.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, at operation S910, if the user desires to create ordraw up handwriting content, the screen 120 may display letters or astring being input. The screen 120, under control of the controller 110,may display a string including letters, words or at least one word beinginput. The displayed string may be stored in the storage unit 170 inunits of at least one of letters, words, phrases and sentences. Theletter may include at least one of one syllable for Korean and onecharacter for English.

At operation S912, the controller 110 may determine whether settings forchanging string properties is received.

If the controller 110 determines that settings for changing propertiesof the string are input at operation S912, then the controller 110 mayproceed to operation S914 at which the controller 110 may changeproperties of the string selected from the displayed string intoproperties corresponding to the input settings, and display the changeresults. The controller 110 may change properties of the stringdisplayed on the screen 120. The changing of the properties may beachieved using a function of a handwriting application capable ofreceiving a string. The settings may include at least one of pen-type,string's thickness and string's color settings to be applied to a stringbeing created in a handwriting application. In addition to the pen-type,thickness and color settings, various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may provide a variety of other settings that can be appliedto letters or strings. If the user creates handwriting content with theinput unit 168, or creates handwriting content using the user's finger,the controller 110 may display the handwriting content being created inthe handwriting application, in real time. If at least one word orletter is selected from the input string by the input unit 168 or thefinger, the controller 110 may determine that properties of the selectedat least one word or letter can be changed. The at least one word orletter may be selected based on at least one of trajectory of the inputunit 168 and an area defined by the trajectory of the input unit 168.According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the user maybe allowed to select at least one word using the finger instead of theinput unit 168. If trajectory is input to select at least one word, thecontroller 110 may display the trajectory in response to the settings.

In contrast, if the controller 110 determines that settings for changingproperties of the string are not input at operation S912, then thecontroller 110 may end the handwriting input method.

FIGS. 10A to 10D illustrate examples of changing properties of a stringbeing input according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Specifically, FIG. 10A illustrates an example of displaying a stringbeing input according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG.10B illustrates an example of changing properties of a string beinginput according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 10Cillustrates an example of selecting at least one word from an inputstring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG.10D illustrates an example of changing properties of a selected at leastone word according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10A, the screen 120 may display a string being createdor handwritten by the input unit 168 using a handwriting application.The handwriting application may provide at least one function capable ofchanging properties of the string being input. The handwritingapplication may provide a variety of functions for changing propertiesof the string being input. The at least one function may include abackground menu 1011 for attaching at least one of photos, images,emoticons, and/or the like, or changing the background on whichhandwriting content is displayed, a pen settings menu 1012 for settingthe pen type, thickness, color, and/or the like to be applied to astring being input, a clear menu 1013 for clearing the created lettersor drawings, an undo menu 1014 for undoing the created letters ordrawings, and a redo menu 1015 for redoing the deleted or undonecontent. Any one of the provided menus may be selected by the user withthe input unit 168. The input unit 168 has the structure illustrated inFIG. 4. If the pen settings menu 1012 is selected to change propertiesof the string being input, a pop-up window 1016 used to change theproperties may be displayed as illustrated in FIG. 10B.

Referring to FIG. 10B, if the Pen Settings menu 1012 is selected, thepop-up window 1016 used to change properties of the string displayed onthe screen 120 may be displayed (e.g., the pop-up window may bedisplayed so as to overlay the string being input). The pop-up window1016 may be opaquely displayed on the string being input, making thestring being input temporarily invisible, or may be semi-transparentlydisplayed, making the string being input faintly visible. If the pensettings menu 1012 is selected using the input unit 168, the controller110 may display the pop-up window 1016 used to change properties of thepen on the screen 120 to change the properties of the string. The pop-upwindow 1016 may include a preview menu 1050 provided to show theproperties applied to the pen in a preview way, a pen type menu 1060provided to display a plurality of pens, an adjust thickness menu 1070used to adjust the thickness of any selected pen, and a select colormenu 1080 used to choose a color of the selected pen.

The pen type menu 1060 in the pop-up window 1016 may display varioustypes of pens such as a ballpoint pen 1061, a pencil 1062, a brush 1063,a fountain pen 1064, and a marker pen 1065. It will be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art that in addition to the above-identifiedpen types, various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide avariety of other pens that can be applied to the string being input. Ifany one of the plurality of pens is selected by the input unit 168, thecontroller 110 may display the selected pen in a preview way. While thehandwriting application is displayed or executed, the user may adjustthe letter's thickness for the selected pen and select the colorthereof, using the input unit 168. Types of the plurality of pens arelisted or displayed in the pop-up window 1016, and any one (e.g., themarker pen 1065) of the listed multiple pens may be selected by theinput unit 168. If the user desires to adjust the thickness of theselected marker pen 1065, the user may adjust the thickness of theselected pen by shifting left or right a thickness button 1071 on theadjust thickness menu 1070. The thickness-adjusted results may bedisplayed in a predetermined area 1072 in a preview way. On the selectcolor menu 1080 may be listed a variety of colors 1081 to 1087. Inaddition to the seven colors (e.g., red 1081, orange 1082, yellow 1083,green 1084, blue 1085, navy 1086 and purple 1087), various embodimentsof the present disclosure may provide a wide variety of colors, and theuser may select a menu 1088 to see more colors.

Referring to FIG. 10C, if the input of settings for changing propertiesof the string being input is completed as illustrated in FIG. 10B afterthe input of the string is completed, the controller 110 may enter astandby state for changing properties of the string selected by theinput unit 168. According to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the user may be allowed to input settings for changingproperties of the string after the input of the string is completed, ormay allow the user to change properties of the string while inputtingthe string. If trajectory of the input unit 168 is detected on thescreen 120, the controller 110 may display the detected trajectory onthe screen 120, enabling the user to recognize that a word or stringcorresponding to the detected trajectory is selected. For example, inthe case in which the string displayed on the handwriting application is‘

(Today)

(Ppobi)

(taxi)

(hospital)

(went)’, if at least one word or string (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)

’) is selected by the input unit 168, the controller 110 may display anarea 1090 of the selected word or string in a shaded way, allowing theuser to recognize the selected word (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)

’) or string. The controller 110 may detect the selection of at leastone word, using at least one of the trajectory of the input unit 168 andthe area defined by the trajectory of the input unit 168, in thedisplayed string. The controller 110 may display at least one of thetrajectory of the input unit 168 and the area defined by the trajectoryof the input unit 168, in response to the settings.

Referring to FIG. 10D, if the at least one word (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)

’) is selected as illustrated in FIG. 10C, the selected word (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)

’) may be displayed as a word ‘

(Ppobi)

’ 1095 as illustrated in FIG. 10D after properties thereof are changedaccording to the settings that are input in FIG. 10B. According tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure the process of changingproperties of at least one word or string may be performed once ormultiple times. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart that various embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied tospecial characters in addition to the letters, words or strings beinginput.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method bymultiple users according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

A handwriting input method by multiple users according to an embodimentof the present disclosure will be described in detail below withreference to FIG. 11.

If multiple users desire to create their own handwriting content, thescreen 120 may display handwriting letters being input by each of themultiple users at operation S1110. The string being input by each usermay be stored in the storage unit 170 in units of at least one ofletters, words and sentences. In addition, at least one of letters,words and sentences being input by each user may be stored in thestorage unit 170. The letter may include at least one of one syllablefor Korean and one character for English. It will be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art that various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be applied not only to Korean and English, but also to avariety of other languages used in different countries, such asJapanese, Chinese, Russian and/or the like.

At operation S1112, the controller 110 may analyze the handwriting (orthe style of penmanship) of the handwriting letters being input by eachuser. The controller 110 may determine each of multiple users byanalyzing the handwritings of the handwriting letters being input by themultiple users. Commonly, people have their own unique handwritings, sothe controller 110 may analyze these handwritings to determine whichletters, strings, words and the like have been input by the user who isnow inputting the letters.

The users may be determined based not only on the handwriting analysis,but also on at least one of iris recognition or face recognition by acamera, fingerprint recognition by a fingerprint sensor included in apen, information about a pen ID assigned to each user, an ID of a userthat has presently logged in the system, and a user ID transmitted by adevice (e.g., a smart phone or a wearable device) by which the userinputs the handwriting.

At operation S1114, the controller 110 may extract and display at leastone candidate word stored in advance in response to the handwritingletters being input by each user. The at least one candidate word may bea word including the input letters. For example, if the user desiring toinput or enter a keyword (e.g., ‘

(school)’) inputs the first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), the controller 110 may extract at least one candidate word using theinput first syllable. The extracted at least one candidate word mayinclude at least one word whose first syllable is the same as the inputfirst syllable (e.g., ‘

’), such as ‘

(student)’, ‘

(school)’, ‘

(parents)’ and ‘

(study)’, and may also include at least one word (e.g., ‘

(school)’). Each word may be singular in number, or may be plural innumber due to the difference between the user's handwritings. Thecontroller 110 may extract at least one candidate word corresponding tothe handwriting letters being input by each user by analyzing thehandwriting of each user. The controller 110 may extract multiple words(e.g., ‘

(school)’) for each user, and the extracted multiple words (e.g., ‘

(school)’) may be different from each other in terms of thehandwritings. Similarly, if the user desiring to input a word (e.g.,‘school’) inputs the first character (e.g., ‘s’), the controller 110 mayextract at least one candidate word using the input first character(e.g., ‘s’). The extracted at least one candidate word may include atleast one word whose first character is the same as the input firstcharacter (e.g., ‘s’), such as ‘student’, ‘school’, ‘study’ and‘sister’, and may also include at least one word (e.g., ‘school’). Eachword may be singular in number, or may be plural in number due to thedifference between the user's handwritings. The controller 110 mayextract multiple words (e.g., ‘school’), and the extracted multiplewords (e.g., ‘school’) may be different from each other in terms of thehandwritings.

The at least one candidate word may be stored in the storage unit 170after a priority of the at least one candidate word is determined usingat least one of storage order, input frequency for the word input by theuser, and relationship between the input word and a word adjacentthereto, for each user. The at least one candidate word may include aword that is the same as, or similar to a word including the inputletters. The at least one candidate word may be displayed in a separatepop-up window on the screen 120, for each user. For the pop-up window, asize and/or display position thereof may be variably adjusted dependingon at least one of the number of candidate words, the types of candidatewords, and the number of words with the same meaning. The at least onecandidate word may include a plurality of the same words, and theplurality of the same words may be included in (or may belong to) atleast one candidate word, because each time the word is handwritten bythe user, its handwriting may be different. Specifically, the same wordsmay be included in the candidate word, because even though each userhandwrites the same word, the handwriting or the pixels in the area atwhich the word is handwritten may be different. The displayed at leastone candidate word may be displayed on the screen 120 by being appliedin real time in response to the input letters.

If any candidate word is selected at operation S1116, the controller 110may proceed to operation S1118 at which the controller 110 may replacethe word being input with the selected candidate word, and display thereplacement results. At least one candidate word may be displayeddepending on its priority based on the first syllable or the firstcharacter that is input to the screen 120. If any candidate word isselected by each user while the at least one candidate word isdisplayed, the selected candidate word may be displayed on the screen120, replacing the word being input. The arbitrary candidate word may bea word the user desires to input. For example, if the user desiring toinput a word (e.g., ‘

(school)’) inputs the first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), the controller 110 may extract at least one candidate word using theinput first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), and display the extracted at least one candidate word on the screen120 depending on a priority of the extracted at least one candidateword. If another user desiring to input a word (e.g., ‘

(school)’) inputs the first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), the controller 110 may extract at least one candidate word using theinput first syllable (e.g., ‘

’), and display the extracted at least one candidate word on the screen120 depending on a priority of the extracted at least one candidateword. The controller 110 may perform these operations at the same timeor in real time, if multiple users are inputting letters. If anycandidate word (e.g., ‘

(school)’ or ‘

(school)’) is selected by each user while the at least one candidateword is displayed, the controller 110 may replace the input firstsyllable (e.g., ‘

’ or ‘

’) with a candidate word (e.g., ‘

(school)’ or ‘

(school)’), and display the replacement results (e.g., ‘

(school)’ or ‘

(school)’) on the display 120. According to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, through the above process, the user is enabled tocreate handwriting content. A more detailed example of the handwritinginput method according to various embodiments of the present disclosurewill be described with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12D.

FIGS. 12A to 12D illustrate an example of a handwriting input method bymultiple users according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Specifically, FIG. 12A illustrates an example of displaying at least onecandidate word corresponding to letters being input by multiple usersaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 12Billustrates an example of displaying keywords corresponding to lettersbeing input by multiple users in a shaded way according to an embodimentof the present disclosure, FIG. 12C illustrates at least one candidateword corresponding to letters being input by a first user among multipleusers according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 12Dillustrates at least one candidate word corresponding to letters beinginput by a second user among multiple users according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

An example of a handwriting input method by multiple users according toan embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detailbelow with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12D.

FIG. 12A illustrates an example of displaying at least one candidateword corresponding to letters being input by multiple users according toan embodiment of the present disclosure, and the screen 120 of the userdevice 100 may display the handwriting application 1210.

If the multiple users input or enter strings 1230 a and 1230 b to thehandwriting application 1210 using their input units 168 a and 168 b,respectively, then pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b may be displayed,respectively, which include at least one candidate word corresponding toat least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’ and ‘Hel’) that is currently being inputor was most recently input, in the input strings 1230 a and 1230 b. Theat least one candidate word displayed in the pop-up windows 1220 a and1220 b may be different depending on the input letters. For example, ifthe handwriting letters being input by the multiple users are ‘m’ and‘H’, at least one candidate word corresponding to the input letters(e.g., ‘m’ and ‘H’) may be displayed in the pop-up window 1220 a and1220 b depending on the priority. If the at least one letter being inputis ‘mo’ and ‘Hel’, at least one candidate word corresponding to theinput at least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’ and ‘Hel’) may be displayed in thepop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b depending on the priority. Morespecifically, if a letter being input is ‘m’, at least one candidateword may include at least one word whose first character starts with‘m’, or may include at least one word whose first character starts with‘m’, among the words drawn up in advance by the user.

For example, if the letter being input is ‘m’, the at least onecandidate word may include a variety of words starting with ‘m’, such as‘mom’, ‘Monday’, ‘melon’, ‘miracle’ and ‘mystery’, and may also includeat least one word corresponding to a variety of handwritings, for eachof the words. If ‘mo’ is input to the handwriting application 1210 asthe user inputs ‘o’ after inputting the first character ‘m’, at leastone candidate word may include a variety of words starting with ‘mo’,such as ‘mom’, ‘Monday’, ‘morning’ and ‘mother’, and may also include atleast one word corresponding to a variety of handwritings, for each ofthe words. Similarly, if the letter being input is ‘H’, the at least onecandidate word may include a variety of words starting with ‘H’ (or‘h’), such as Hi, hello, house, hell, honey and helicopter, and may alsoinclude at least one word corresponding to a variety of handwritings,for each of the words. The controller 110 may distinguish betweenuppercase letters and lowercase letters. If ‘Hel’ is input to thehandwriting application 1210 as the user inputs ‘e’ after inputting thefirst character ‘H’, at least one candidate word may include a varietyof words starting with ‘He’ (or ‘he’), such as ‘Hello’, ‘hell’ and‘helicopter’, and may also include at least one word corresponding to avariety of handwritings, for each of the words.

At least one word included in the pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b maybe changed, deleted or added in response to the at least one syllable orat least one character being input. The change, deletion, or additionmay be applied in real time to the syllable or character being input.According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the user isenabled to variably adjust the position and size of the displayed pop-upwindows 1220 a and 1220 b. In response to the adjustment of the size ofthe pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b, the number of candidate wordsdisplayed in the pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b may be adjusteddepending on respective priorities of the candidate words. The pop-upwindows 1220 a and 1220 b will be described in more detail below withreference to FIGS. 12C and 12D.

Referring to FIG. 12B, if at least one letter that is currently beinginput with the input units 168 a and 168 b by the multiple users is ‘mo’and ‘hel’, the pop-up window 1220 a including at least one candidateword (e.g., ‘mom’, ‘Monday’, ‘morning’, ‘mother’, and the like)corresponding to the input letters ‘mo’ and the pop-up window 1220 bincluding at least one candidate word (e.g., Hello, Hell, Helicopter,and the like) corresponding to the input letters ‘Hel’ may be displayed,as described in FIG. 12A. For a variety of candidate words included inthe pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b, respective priorities thereof maybe determined based on at least one of storage order, input frequency,relationship with a word adjacent to the input word or letters (e.g.,‘mo’ and ‘Hel’), and/or the like. In this case, the controller 110 maydisplay the remaining syllables or characters 1240 a (e.g., ‘rning’) ofa word with the highest priority among the candidate words on the screen120 in a shaded way in response to the at least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’)being input. Similarly, the controller 110 may display the remainingsyllables or characters 1240 b (e.g., ‘lo’) of a word with the highestpriority among the candidate words on the screen 120 in a shaded way inresponse to the at least one letter (e.g., ‘Hel’) being input.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontroller 110 may display both or at least one of the pop-up windows1220 a and 1220 b described in FIG. 12A and the remaining characters1240 a and 1240 b described in FIG. 12B on the screen 120. The positionsat which the remaining characters 1240 a and 1240 b (e.g., ‘rning’ and‘lo’) are displayed in a shaded way and the positions at which thepop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b are displayed, may or may not overlapon the screen 120.

Referring to FIGS. 12C and 12D, if strings are input separately bymultiple users, the pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b may be displayed,respectively, which include at least one candidate word corresponding toat least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’ and ‘hel’) that is currently being inputor was most recently input, in the input strings. The at least onecandidate word displayed in the pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b may bedifferent depending on the input letters. As in the case of the exampleillustrated in FIG. 12A, if at least one letter being input by themultiple users is ‘mo’ and ‘Hel’, the pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 bmay display at least one candidate word corresponding to the input atleast one letter (e.g., ‘mo’ and ‘Hel’). The at least one candidate wordmay include ‘morning’ 1221, ‘monday’ 1224, ‘mother’ 1225′, and the like,all of which start with the input at least one letter (e.g., ‘mo’), andHello 1241, Hell 1244, Helicopter 1245, and the like, all of which startwith the input at least one letter (e.g., ‘Hel’), for each user. The atleast one candidate word may also include at least one word 1222, 1223,1242 and 1243 corresponding to a variety of handwritings for the words‘morning’ and ‘Hello’ with the highest priority among the at least onecandidate word. Although the at least one words 1221, 1222 and 1223 andthe at least one words 1241, 1242 and 1243 are the same words, therespective handwritings thereof may be different from each other becausethe words are handwritten by the user. The at least one words 1221, 1222and 1223 and the at least one words 1241, 1242 and 1243 may be listed inorder of good handwriting or recently input word. The at least one wordincluded in the pop-up windows 1220 a and 1220 b may be a word stored inadvance in the storage unit 170, or a word received over the Internet.According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theplurality of same words may be displayed so as to allow the user toselect a preferred one of the plurality of displayed same words.

FIG. 713 is a flowchart illustrating a handwriting input method bymultiple users according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

A handwriting input method by multiple users according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail belowwith reference to FIG. 13.

If each of multiple users desires to create or draw up handwritingcontent, the screen 120 may display a string being input by each of themultiple users at operation S1310. The screen 120, under control of thecontroller 110, may display a string including letters, words or atleast one word being input by each of the multiple users.

At operation S1312, the controller 110 may extract an imagecorresponding to at least one word included in the string being input byeach user. The controller 110 may extract at least one imagecorresponding to a word included in the string being input by each user.The controller 110 may convert a word included in the string being inputby each user into a code, and extract an image that is matched to thecode in advance. The controller 110 may analyze a word included in thestring being input by each user, and extract an image corresponding tothe input word based on the analysis results. For example, if a firstuser inputs a word ‘

(Ppobi)’ and a second user inputs a word ‘

(taxi)’, the controller 110 may extract at least one image correspondingto each of the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ and ‘

(taxi)’ from the storage unit 170. The image may be an image that isstored in advance in the storage unit 170, or an image that is receivedthrough a communication scheme such as the Internet. The controller 110may analyze a word included in the string being input by each of themultiple users. In the case in which the analyzed word corresponds to anemail address, if the email address is selected, properties orattributes of the analyzed word may be changed so that an emailapplication may be executed. In the case in which the analyzed wordcorresponds to a phone number, if the phone number is selected, thecontroller 110 may change properties of the analyzed word so that aphone call may be executed. According to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a handwriting input method may be implemented byselecting an input word corresponding not only to the email address andphone number, but also to a variety of other functions such as a videofunction, a messaging function, a photo capture function, and/or thelike.

The controller 110 may convert the word being input by each user into atext, and extract at least one image corresponding to the text. Eachimage may be stored in advance in the storage unit 170 after beingmatched to its associated word using the text or the code. The at leastone image may be stored in the storage unit 170 after a priority thereofis determined using at least one of storage order, selection frequencyfor the word input by the user, and relationship between the input wordand its adjacent word. The at least one image may be displayed in aseparate pop-up window on the screen 120. For the pop-up window, a sizeor a display position thereof may be variably adjusted depending on atleast one of the number of images, the types of images, the number ofimages with the same meaning, and/or the like. As for the at least oneimage, a plurality of images may be included in (or may belong to) thesame word. For example, in the case of dogs, there may be a plurality ofimages corresponding to a variety of dogs depending on the types ofdogs, so the images corresponding to a variety of dogs may be includedin the at least one image. The displayed at least one image may bedisplayed on the screen 120 by being applied in real time in response tothe word being input.

At operation S1314, the controller 110 may replace the word with theextracted image and display the replacement results. An imagecorresponding to the word being input to the screen 120 by each user maybe extracted, and the extracted image may be displayed on the screen120, replacing the word being input. As for the extraction of an imagecorresponding to the word being input, if the user matches words withassociated images in advance, or if there are file names of images, thecontroller 110 may convert the word being input into a text, and extractan image matching with the text. The controller 110 may extract an imageand replace the word being input with the extracted word in real time,in response to the word being input by each of the multiple users.Alternatively, after the content that the user desires to input is fullycreated, the controller 110 may extract an image corresponding to atleast one word included in the content and replace the word with theextracted image. If the input of the word is completed, the controller110 may replace the input word with the extracted image in response tothe input of the word, and display the replacement results.Alternatively, after the string being input is completed, or after thedesired handwriting content is fully created or input, the controller110 may extract at least one image corresponding to at least one wordincluded in the completely input string, replace the word with theextracted image, and display the replacement results. Another example ofthe handwriting input method according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be described in more detail with reference toFIGS. 14A and 14B.

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate another example of creating handwritingcontent based on the handwritings input by multiple users according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14A illustrates an example of displaying strings being input bymultiple users according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, andFIG. 14B illustrates an example of replacing words corresponding tostrings being input by multiple users with images according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

An example of creating handwriting content based on the handwritingsinput by multiple users according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 14Aand 14B.

Referring to FIG. 14A, a screen 1410 a may display strings that multipleusers create or handwrite using input units 168 a and 168 b. The stringsbeing input by the multiple users may include words (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)’ and ‘

(taxi)’) that can be replaced with images. In the case where the stringsbeing input by the multiple users are ‘

(Today)

(Ppobi)’ and ‘

(taxi)

’, if the input of the word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 1411 is completed, the controller 110 may convert the inputword ‘

(Ppobi)’ into a text, determine whether an image corresponding to theword ‘

(Ppobi)’ is present in the storage unit 170, using the text, and extractthe image depending on the determination results. Similarly, if theinput of the word ‘

(taxi)’ 1412 is completed, the controller 110 may convert the input word‘

(taxi)’ into a text, determine whether an image corresponding to theword ‘

(taxi)’ is present in the storage unit 170, using the text, and extractthe image depending on the determination results. The controller 110 mayreplace the input word ‘

(Ppobi)’ 1411 and the input word ‘

(taxi)’ 1412 with their associated extracted images as illustrated inFIG. 14B.

Referring to FIG. 14B, if the words (e.g., ‘

(Ppobi)’ and ‘

(taxi)’), which can be replaced with images in the strings being inputby multiple users, are input in FIG. 14A, the controller 110 maydetermine whether images corresponding to the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ and ‘

(taxi)’ are present in the storage unit 170, replace the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ 1411 and ‘

(taxi)’ 1412 with the extracted images 1421 and 1422, and display thereplacement results on a screen 1420 a. If there is no image used forreplacing the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ and ‘

(taxi)’, the controller 110 may extract at least one image used forreplacing the input words ‘

(Ppobi)’ and ‘

(taxi)’ from the storage unit 170, or download the images over theInternet, and recommend the extracted or downloaded images to the user.

It will be noted that various embodiments of the present disclosure maybe implemented by hardware, software or a combination thereof. Thesoftware may be stored in a volatile or non-volatile storage (e.g.,erasable/re-writable ROM), a memory (e.g., RAM, memory chip, memorydevice, or memory IC), or an optically/magnetically recordablenon-transitory machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) storage medium(e.g., Compact Disk (CD), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), magnetic disk ormagnetic tape). The storage unit that can be mounted in the user devicemay be a mere example of the machine-readable storage medium suitable tostore a program or programs including instructions for implementingvarious embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, variousembodiments of the present disclosure may include a program includingcodes for implementing the apparatus or method as defined by theappended claims and their equivalents, and the machine-readable storagemedium storing the program. This program may be electronically carriedby any media such as communication signals which are transmitted throughwired/wireless connections.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the userdevice may receive and store the program from a program server, to whichthe user device is connected by wires or wirelessly. The program servermay include a memory for storing a program including instructionsenabling the user device to perform the method of creating handwritingcontent, and the necessary information for the handwriting contentcreation method, a communication unit for performing wired/wirelesscommunication with the user device, and a controller for transmittingthe program to the user device at the user's request or automatically.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure, the user device and method maydisplay the pre-created recommendable handwriting content and allow theuser to select a preferred one, making it possible to quickly re-inputthe user's desired words or strings, and may quickly perform editing onthe pre-created content, thereby providing convenience to the user.

In addition, the user device and method may replace at least one wordincluded in a string being input with at least one of an associatedimage, photo, and emoticon, providing benefits to the user, and maychange properties or attributes of the string being input, making itpossible to change the handwriting content according to the user'spreference.

Besides, when multiple users enter their own handwriting content to oneuser device at the same time, the user device and method may analyze thehandwriting of each user and recommend at least one candidate word orpreferred words corresponding to the analyzed handwriting of each user.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of an electronic device, the methodcomprising: executing a memo application for receiving the handwritinginputs by the user; in response to the executing of the memoapplication, displaying, on a touch screen of the electronic device, auser interface of the memo application for receiving the handwritinginputs by the user; receiving the handwriting inputs by the user throughthe displayed user interface of the memo application; displaying thereceived handwriting inputs in a first color on the user interface;identifying at least one keyword from among the displayed handwritinginputs; identifying whether an application with respect to theidentified at least one keyword is installed in the electronic device;when the application with respect to the identified at least one keywordis installed in the electronic device, changing a property of theidentified at least one keyword; identifying a touch input on the atleast one keyword with the changed property; and executing a function ofthe application with respect to the at least one keyword with thechanged property based on identifying the touch input.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one keyword, the property of which ischanged, is displayed in a second color different from the first colorwhile a remaining portion except the at least one keyword among thereceived handwriting inputs, the property of which is not changed, isdisplayed in the first color.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thechanging of the property of the identified at least one keyword furthercomprises displaying, on the user interface of the executed memoapplication, a pop-up window comprising a menu for changing a thirdcolor of the user interface of the executed memo application to a secondcolor.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the executing of the functionof the identified application comprises: when the at least one keywordidentified based on the touch input is a uniform resource locator (URL),executing a browser capable of displaying a webpage based on the URL;and displaying the webpage via the executed browser.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the executing of the function of the identifiedapplication comprises: when the at least one keyword identified based onthe touch input is an e-mail address, executing an application capableof sending an e-mail based on the e-mail address.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the changing of the property comprises setting a path forexecuting a program or an application corresponding to the identified atleast one keyword.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisesunderlining the identified at least one keyword.
 8. The method of claim3, wherein the pop-up window further comprises at least one of a pensetting function, an eraser function, an undo function, or a redofunction.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the function furthercomprises at least one of transfer an e-mail, a file access orexecution, an Internet access, or a call.
 10. An electronic devicecomprising: a touch screen; and at least one processor configured to:execute a memo application for receiving the handwriting inputs by theuser, in response to the executing of the memo application display, onthe touch screen, a user interface of the memo application for receivingthe handwriting inputs by the user, receive the handwriting inputs bythe user through the displayed user interface of the memo application,display, on the touch screen, the received handwriting inputs in a firstcolor on the user interface, identify at least one keyword from amongthe displayed handwriting inputs, identify whether an application withrespect to the identified at least one keyword is installed in theelectronic device, when the application with respect to the identifiedat least one keyword is installed in the electronic device, change aproperty of the identified at least one keyword, identify a touch inputon the at least one keyword with the changed property, and execute afunction of the application with respect to the at least one keywordwith the changed property based on identifying the touch input.
 11. Theelectronic device of claim 10, wherein the at least one keyword, theproperty of which is changed, is displayed in a second color differentfrom the first color while a remaining portion except the at least onekeyword among the received handwriting inputs, the property of which isnot changed, is displayed in the first color.
 12. The electronic deviceof claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured todisplay, on the user interface of the executed memo application, apop-up window comprising a menu for changing a third color of the userinterface of the executed memo application to a second color.
 13. Theelectronic device of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to: when the at least one keyword identified based onthe touch input is a uniform resource locator (URL), execute a browsercapable of displaying a webpage based on the URL, and display thewebpage via the executed browser.
 14. The electronic device of claim 10,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: when the atleast one keyword identified based on the touch input is an e-mailaddress, execute an application capable of sending an e-mail based onthe e-mail address.
 15. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to set a path for executinga program or an application corresponding to the identified at least onekeyword.
 16. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to underline the identified at least onekeyword.
 17. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the pop-upwindow further comprises at least one of a pen setting function, aneraser function, an undo function, or a redo function.
 18. Theelectronic device of claim 10, wherein the function further comprises atleast one of transfer an e-mail, a file access or execution, an Internetaccess, or a call.